I wonder how many long-time baseball fans are aware that there are 500 or so former MLB players, being hosed out of pensions by the league and the players’ association.
All these men have been getting since 2011 are non qualified retirement payments of $625 per quarter, up to 16 quarters, or a maximum payment of $10,000 per year. Meanwhile, the maximum IRS pension limit per year is $210,000.
One of these men is Dublin, Virginia’s Bill Dailey. Born in Arlington, Virginia in March 1935, Mr. Dailey recently turned 82.
A pitcher who played for the Cleveland Indians, in 1961 and 1962, and the Minnesota Twins, in 1963 and 1964, Mr. Dailey appeared in a total of 119 games, all in relief. He notched 10 victories in 185 and two-third innings. In 1963 in what was probably Dailey’s best season, he appeared in relief 66 times for the Twins pitching a total of 108.2 innings and saved 21 games while winning 6 games and posting a 1.99 ERA.
Mr. Dailey had a career year for the Twins in 1963, when he appeared in 66 games, went 6-3, had a brilliant 1.99 Earned Run Average and recorded 21 saves. In that magical season, when the Twins were home and the opposing team was threatening, the organist for the Twins would play a parody of “Bill Bailey Won’t You Please Come Home” called “Bill Dailey Won’t You Please Come In?”
The union representing the players, the MLBPA, doesn’t have to be the legal advocates for these men, the league doesn’t have to negotiate about this matter and the alumni association is too busy putting on golf outings.
Neither the league nor the union want to retroactively restore these men into pension coverage; instead, taxes are taken out of the nonqualified retirement payment, which cannot be passed on to a surviving spouse or designated beneficiary. So when Mr. Dailey passes on, the payment he is currently receiving is not passed on to any of his loved ones, including his wife, Anne. They are also not eligible to be covered under the league’s umbrella health insurance plan.
Former pitcher Steve Rogers is a special assistant to Tony Clark, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. He is the players’ pension liaison; his email address is stever@mlbpa.org and his telephone number is 646-430-2112.
If you believe that these former big league ballplayers are being treated unfairly please give Steve Rogers a call or send him an e-mail and let him know that this is totally unfair.
This article was submitted by Doug Gladstone, Author
“A Bitter Cup of Coffee; How MLB & The Players Association Threw 874 Retirees a Curve”